


Following the Manual

by SvenskaFishes



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Other, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 14:19:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6010750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SvenskaFishes/pseuds/SvenskaFishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You invited Papyrus on a date. He said yes. DATING... START!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Following the Manual

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentines Day!  
> I wrote this partially to try to get a handle on writing Papyrus, and partially because I wanted the opportunity to fantasize about someone cleaning my apartment for me. And also for all of you, of course. :D

You check the clock again. Forty-five minutes until... It might be time for you to think about getting ready. You've spent the whole day in your worn-out sweater and comfy jeans, just surfing the internet and trying to quell the fluttering in your chest.

Then the doorbell rings. You yelp, trying not to dislodge your laptop from its place on your lap and freeze. Who is it?

Creeping over to the door, you peek out and see a smiling skeleton waving at you through the glass. It startles you at first, of course, but you quickly calm down. He's just early. ...very early.

You swing the door open wide, bracing yourself for the whirlwind of energy as he snatches you up into a hug and spins you around, clutching you tight to his chest happily. His hugs are the best you've ever had, to be honest. You see from your vantage point of cheek-to-chest that he's wearing a dress shirt and jacket - as surprising as it is, you really feel underdressed now. He still seems to be wearing his red cape, though.

"NYEH-HEH-HEH! HOW ARE YOU, TALLER HUMAN?" he asks you cheerily. (You know he knows your name, but just as Frisk will always be 'Human' to him, you've somehow gained the moniker 'Taller Human' by virtue of being taller than Frisk. You wonder what will happen if Frisk grows up to be taller than you. Things might get a bit confusing.)

You tell him you're doing fine, but are a bit surprised. Isn't your date supposed to start in forty-five minutes? He's very early.

"WHY YES, WELL." He pats you on the back, still holding you in his tight embrace, "MY DATING MANUAL SAYS TO ARRIVE 'A LITTLE EARLY', AND SINCE IT DIDN'T SPECIFY HOW EARLY, I DECIDED TO ALLOW ROOM FOR ERROR AND ARRIVE AN HOUR EARLY. AND LOOK! I WAS RIGHT TO BE PREPARED! TRAFFIC WAS AWFUL AND HERE I AM, LATE TO MY EARLY ARRIVAL."

This hug is very nice and all, you tell him, but you honestly need to be getting ready right about now. If you had known he'd be here so early, you would have started earlier.  So... you're just gonna...

"NYEH! OF COURSE!" He relaxes his grip and allows you to shimmy out of the hug and into your room. In the doorway, you look back and give him an awkward smile before ducking inside and shutting the door softly. You breathe.

Oh crap crap crap, you didn't expect this and now you have to hurry up and get ready. What was supposed to be a leisurely prep session has now been reduced to As Fast As Possible. (Who are you kidding, you're a chronic procrastinator on these things and it probably would have happened anyway, but you feel bad making Papyrus wait so things are even more stressful than usual).

And he's wearing something pretty nice, so you have to as well. Shit.

You dig around in your closet, trying to find some nice clothes so you won't feel like a loser. You hear a noise, something muffled from outside, and you realize suddenly that maybe, just maybe, leaving him alone isn't such a great idea.

Well, whatever he's doing will have to wait at least until you stop looking like a runover pizza.

You don't know exactly how long it takes you to finish getting ready, but it feels like forever and no time at all and then you're standing in front of a mirror with an acceptable-ish outfit, hair somewhat in order, running hands over your hips to smooth out the material and forcing a quick smile to double-check you're looking okay.

Okay.

You swing your door open to see Papyrus standing near the sink. His fingers are gloveless and holding a sponge and he's whistling as he scrubs away at some dishes you had been meaning to take care of. You take a second just to glance around and you see that everything is much, much cleaner than it had been before he got there. Oh jeez.

"OH! THERE YOU ARE, TALLER HUMAN!" Papyrus cheers. "GIVE ME A SECOND AND I WILL FINISH DEFEATING THE TERRIFYING SLUDGE ON THIS PLATE! THIS IS A FEAT TRULY WORTHY OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

You let out a breathy laugh and respond that it's okay, he really didn't need to do... all that. You motion to the place in general, and wince as you think of all your gross stuff he had to have touched while cleaning up. That's more than a little embarrassing.

Papyrus scoffs. "NONSENSE! TO LEAVE YOUR LIVING CONDITIONS IN SUCH A STATE IS UNTHINKABLE TO A GREAT FRIEND SUCH AS PAPYRUS! DO NOT WORRY TALLER HUMAN, I WILL BE HAPPY TO TEACH YOU HOW TO BETTER TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF."

Awwww. Okay.

He dries the dish he was working on and then takes his gloves from where he had left them on the table, slipping them on. Now that you see them up close, you realize that they're black. And strangely thick. And you can see a little red poking through near the bottom.

Wait. Someone made black gloves.... to put over his regular gloves. To go with his nice outfit.

Huh.

You wonder who helped dress him today and what they had to do to convince him to forego the usual clothes.

"NOW," he grins widely, holding out his arm for you to take, "I BELIEVE WE WERE GOING... SOMEWHERE?"

The two of you are going to a restaurant, you remind him. An Italian restaurant.

"WOWIE! I HOPE THEY HAVE SPAGHETTI!"

If nobody told him yet, you think with a grin, then he's in for a surprise.

* * *

You ask for a table for two. Your hand nestles in Papyrus' thick double-gloved grasp. The waiter nods and pulls two menus out. A sudden thought occurs to you, and you shyly request a kid's placemat as well, which the waiter barely blinks at before handing to you along with a pack of crayons.

As you both follow him to your table, Papyrus peers at the half-eaten meals on the tables you pass by. He doesn't bother to lower his voice as he comments, "WAS THAT SPAGHETTI WITH CHICKEN ON TOP? WOWIE!!!"

You try to hide your blush and control your secondhand-embarassment smile. As politely but firmly as you can, you ask him to quiet down a little, so he doesn't disturb the other people in the restaurant.

Papyrus looks surprised for a moment and then his grin widens. He leans towards you, speaking in a loud whisper. "OF COURSE, TALLER HUMAN! I WILL TRY TO REMEMBER THIS HUMAN SOCIAL NORM, I-" He glances at another table, and suddenly abandons any attempt at being quiet again. "WHAT IS THAT ON THE SPAGHETTI? THAT'S NOT EVEN MEAT! SIR, COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THE FASCINATING SURFACE TOPPINGS ON YOUR SPAGHETTI?" The stranger he's questioning looks a bit taken aback in surprise.

Come on, you say, laughing nervously. You urge him to just go to your table and sit down. You offer to explain when you're there. He acquiesces.

You slide into your seat and watch him do the same across from you. He looks eager to experience new things, bouncing his knees and rubbing his hands together. It's really, really cute.

You aren't exactly an expert, but you manage to stumble your way through some sort of description of italian food and the assorted variations thereof while pointing at the menu. He looks intrigued.

"SO MANY *PASTA*-BILITIES..." He murmurs to himself. "I HOPE UNDYNE KNOWS ABOUT ALL OF THIS. I CAN'T WAIT TO TELL HER! OUR COOKING LESSONS CAN PROGRESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!"

A few moments pass by in silence. You inquire as to what he's going to order. He's staring at his menu like he's trying to decode a puzzle.

"I DON'T KNOW!?!" He groans, plopping his chin into his hands, elbows propped up on the table. "THERE ARE TOO MANY CHOICES. I HAVE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE, SO I AM HAVING DIFFICULTY JUDGING WHICH ONE I LIKE."

You suggest that you both could order different things and share.

Papyrus gasps. "OF COURSE!!! TALLER HUMAN, YOUR WITS AND PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS ARE REMARKABLE! OF COURSE, I KNEW THAT SOLUTION FROM THE BEGINNING! I WAS! WAITING TO SEE IF YOU WERE UP TO THE CHALLENGE! NYEH-HEH-HEH."

Of course.

Together, you both manage to hash out two different spaghetti-esque dishes that he wants to try. Both seem pretty alright to you, so. That works out nicely.

While you wait for your food, you pull out the little paper kid's placemat you asked for. You turn it over to show Papyrus the puzzles, and Papyrus is _over the moon._

You two plug away at the simple activities on the placemat with the teeny-tiny crayons that he can barely grip despite valiant effort. As you work, he tells you how his life has been going since he last saw you, complete with full-body gestures to illustrate. He tells you all the things he and Undyne have been up to, as well as all the things Sans has _not_ been up to. Sans doesn't seem to do much, even though he's apparently everywhere.

Speaking of which...

You touch Papyrus' hand to get his attention and motion out the nearby window. Sans is manning a little hotdog cart across the street, piling several apostrophe-dogs on someone's head. Huh.

The timing of your distraction is almost impeccable, as you see a little white dog scurry up to the stand and snatch a hot dog right out of Sans' hand. Sans seems unbothered, but it gets Papyrus started on a rather funny rant you can't quite follow.

You're both interrupted when your waiter places two steaming plates on your table. "THANK YOU, FOOD-DELIVERING HUMAN!" Papyrus says happily. And you dig in.

Somewhere in between the good food, Papyrus commenting excitedly on the textures and flavors, and the bubbling atmosphere, you relax enough to let your legs stretch out a little bit under the table until your feet touch his.

"NYEH!!" Papyrus gasps suddenly. You jump and your fork falls out of your suddenly-slack fingers with a clang. What?

"YOUR DATING LEVEL INCREASED! I READ ABOUT THIS IN MY DATING GUIDE AND THOROUGH INTERNET RESEARCH! TOUCHING FEET UNDER THE TABLE IS A STEP FORWARD IN THE RELATIONSHIP! WELL, HUMAN, I ACCEPT!"

Thorough... internet... research. God, you hope he was at least a little careful when he went online.

Papyrus narrows his eyes at you. You lean back a little, intimidated by his intensity. "BUT... ALMOST NO ONE HAS BESTED ME ON A DATE YET! MY DATING POWER CAN GROW STRONGER THAN YOURS! THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER BACKS DOWN FROM A CHALLENGE!!!"

...uh...?

He's twirling his fork in the noodles, staring at them with an utter focus. He spears a piece of chicken. He holds up the fork and points it at you. "SAY AAAH, HUMAN!"

Oh. That's... cute. You try to suppress your blush and open your mouth wide enough for him to slide the fork into your mouth. The flavors seem amplified, somehow, in the moment, as you close your teeth around the fork and he slides it out gently. He watches you chew while spearing a little more to eat himself. It's a little awkward but it's also really not. It's actually kind of impossible to stay awkward with Papyrus around.

"WELL?" He asks once you are done, "HOW IS MY DATING POWER DOING?!? HOW MUCH AM I IN THE LEAD?"

You assure him that his dating power was never in question. He blushes and straightens his shoulders proudly.

"NYEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS GOOD AT EVERYTHING HE TRIES! OF COURSE MY DATING POWER IS UNQUESTIONABLE! ...BUT I AM GLAD YOU THINK SO!"

Your face hurts from smiling. It's been a long time since you can remember having so much fun. By the time you both finish off the plates, you're full and satisfied, and Papyrus is looking quite contented as well.

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS DECLARES THIS ESTABLISHMENT A SUITABLE PLACE TO TAKE OUR BUSINESS EVERY TIME WE NEED TO GO OUT TO EAT," he sighs as he sinks back in his seat. You have to agree.

He pays ("GIVE ME A SECOND TO OPEN THE GOLD-TO-HUMAN-CURRENCY CONVERTER APP,") and then you both are out and walking back to your place. The fresh air is nice.

He stops with you outside of your door and pauses for a second. "WAIT A MOMENT," he orders, and shuffles around in his cape (which is... somehow a storage compartment? You'll never understand monster physics). It takes him several seconds to produce a book, which he promptly hunches over to study intently, flipping through like a skeleton on a mission. "OKAY, THERE WAS A CHAPTER ON THIS AND I SKIMMED IT BUT I DON'T REMEMBER VERY WELL, LET'S SEE, 'ENDING THE DATE', YES..."

You summon your courage, stand on your tiptoes, and press a kiss to the side of his face. He drops the book in surprise and jumps a little, bringing a glove to brush against his cheek where you just kissed it.

"WOWIE!!! YOU'RE RIGHT, HUMAN, I REMEMBER NOW!" He leans down and touches his skeleton smile to your forehead. It's a brush of contact so gentle that you can barely feel it, but you shiver a little anyway.

Then he hugs you, which is definitely not in the dating manual and definitely all Papyrus. "THANK YOU FOR SUCH A NICE DATE," he says happily. "I HAD A LOT OF FUN AND I HOPE YOU DID TOO!"

You wrap your arms around him and grin and reassure him that yes, you did indeed have a lot of fun. The hug, like so many others from him, is warm and comforting, and not at all as pointy or cold as you might expect from a skeleton. He lets go and pulls away, bending briefly to pick up the dating book and stow it back in his cape.

"WELL, NOW THAT WE HAVE COMPLETED THE FINAL STEP, I MUST DEPART POST-HASTE! I DECLARE THIS DATE OFFICIALLY OVER AND VERY SUCCESSFUL! AS EXPECTED OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND HIS SPECTACULAR DATEMATE!" Here, he winks. "HAVE A GOOD NIGHT, TALLER HUMAN!" With that, he waves, backs up a few steps, and leaps over a nearby fence and out of sight, bringing the date to a decisive conclusion. Okay then. You wave back as you fiddle with your keys. Coming in and closing the door behind you, you laugh a little to yourself.

Well, that was a rather nice date.

**Author's Note:**

> ...To be quite honest, I have never been on a date, and had to do some Thorough Internet Research myself just to get an idea of what happens on one. Uh, yeah.  
>  Have a happy rest-of-your-valentines-day!


End file.
